Honeymoon Harts
by teachinEnglish
Summary: This is a continuation of "A Hart in Time Saves Mine". The Harts head off for their honeymoon, but as they always do, they find adventure mixed in with romance.
1. Chapter 1

A/U: "Honeymoon Harts" is a continuation of "A Hart in Time Saves Mine", so some conversations and situations might not make sense if you haven't read the first story yet. Please also note that you might find an exchange between Jennifer and Jonathan that is familiar. I have always loved the line about the bullfighter in the Pilot episode, so there is a similar line in my story, but all original credit goes to the fabulous _Hart to Hart_ writers.

...

Jonathan and Jennifer Hart spent the late morning and early afternoon after their wedding day at Briarwood, having brunch with her father. At 3:00 pm, they said their goodbyes to Steven, Walter, Max, and Freeway. The latter two were booked on a flight back to California later that night. Jennifer and Jonathan were spending the next three weeks somewhere, and Jennifer was currently trying to get their destination out of her husband as they sped toward the airport.

"Darling, can't you give me a little hint?" Jonathan smiled broadly.

"Of course I can, but I'm not going to." Jennifer threw up her hands.

"You're impossible." He laughed.

"No, Darling, I'm strategic." With that final remark and a wink, they pulled into the area of Dulles reserved for private aircraft and handed their bags off to the porter.

Jennifer got settled in the cabin for their flight, while Jonathan spent a few minutes in the cockpit with Frank and Ben, his regular flight crew.

"Everything all set, men?"

"Good to go, Mr. Hart."

"Just a reminder that Mrs. Hart doesn't know our destination yet. Let's keep it that way for now, all right?"

"Mum's the word." He left them to finish their pre-flight check.

When he walked into the cabin, Jennifer was holding the bouquet filled with colorful blooms of Crocus and Cliffroses Jonathan left for her. She turned as he entered and walked to him to put her arms around him.

"These are beautiful. Thank you." He kissed her gently.

"They aren't half as beautiful as you."

"Awww." She kissed him back. "I recognize the Crocuses, but what are the other flowers?"

"They're called Cliffroses, and they happen to grow wild where we're going." She was about to check her phone to see if she could figure it out when Frank's voice came through the speakers.

"We've got clearance, Mr. Hart. Buckle up for take-off and turn off your devices, please." Jonathan buzzed the cock-pit.

"Thanks, Frank." He laughed as Jennifer stewed over not being able to access the internet.

"Jonathan, I don't understand why you can't just tell me where we're going." The twinkle in his eye earned him another hard glare. He leaned across the table between them and took her hands in his.

"And miss the opportunity to experience all your ways to wheedle it out of me? Where's the fun in that?" Jennifer decided it was time to change tactics. Perhaps if she stopped asking, he might let something slip. She took the bottle of champagne out of the bucket. As expected, Jonathan offered to open it. Once they each had a glass, she made a toast.

"To my husband and each new adventure we have together." He clinked his glass to hers and made a toast of his own.

"To my gorgeous wife, who will always keep me on my toes." He winked at her as she laughed.

They both unbuckled when Frank told them they were at cruising altitude. Jonathan stood, took Jennifer's hand and led her to the couch. He pulled her down with him so her back rested against his chest and kissed the top of her head. They sat for a long time, sipping champagne, and just enjoying being in each other's arms.

"Darling, there's something that's been bothering me about the whole Elliot business."

"You mean other than the fact that he held us at gunpoint?"

"Well, that definitely bothered me, but I can't figure out why he came after you for money. He has a sizable trust fund of his own."

"Not anymore. He blew through it and his parents cut him off." She turned to look up at Jonathan.

"How do you know that?"

"It turns out that Manning actually approached me about a year ago to go in on some deal with him."

"You didn't mention you knew him." He took advantage of her closeness and kissed her nose.

"That's because I didn't. He sent a business associate, and I use that term loosely, to try to convince me that Hart Industries needed whatever he was selling. I checked into it, found out about Elliot's spending habits, his shoddy business practices, and the product he was trying to get Hart Industries to help finance, which pretty much amounted to snake oil." Jennifer thought back.

"He always did seem to spend a lot of money on frivolous things when we were together." Jonathan teased her a bit.

"Oh yeah? What sorts of frivolous things did he buy you?" She laughed, like he hoped she would.

"Nothing. He spent all of his money on himself, trying to impress everyone else." Jonathan gave her a quick kiss near her ear.

"That's too bad, Darling, because you're fun to spoil." Suddenly a small velvet box appeared in his hand.

"Is this more of the Jonathan Hart magic?" Jennifer turned her head and looked up at him again. He placed a light kiss on her lips.

"You are the only magic I'll ever need." She returned a gentle kiss and opened the box to find a necklace with two hearts entwined on a delicate chain. One heart was platinum, and the other was gold. Where they connected, a velvety blue sapphire winked in the cabin light.

"Darling, this is beautiful." She took it out of the case and handed it to him. "Help me put it on?" She held her hair, and when he fastened the clasp, he placed a small kiss at the nape of her neck. Jennifer leaned her head back against his shoulder. "I'll be right back." She blew him a kiss as she disappeared into the bedroom. When Jennifer returned, she was hiding something behind her back.

"I wasn't sure when I wanted to give this to you, but now seems like the perfect time." She held out a rectangular jeweler's box. Jonathan smiled up at her. When he took the box from her, she sat down next to him again.

"Darling, I don't need a present when I have you." She chuckled as she shook her head at him.

"You have such a silver tongue. And I know you don't need a present, but I wanted to get you one." Jennifer watched her husband's reaction as he opened the box. Inside was a watch with a rectangular face made of mother of pearl with white gold hands and Roman numerals. When Jonathan looked at the back, he found it engraved with "Hart to Hart" and two hearts intertwined under an ornate scroll.

Jonathan leaned in and kissed Jennifer gently. "This is beautiful. Thank you." He kissed her again and handed her the watch. "Help me put it on?" She laughed and wrapped the black leather band around his wrist.

"Is that the right fit?" He looked at it.

"Perfect." Suddenly, she was smiling slyly at him.

"How much longer did you say we have until we land?" He laughed as he kissed the side of her neck and changed the subject so she couldn't figure out where they were going.

"Back to being frivolous, I know a woman who spent $75,000 on a date with some guy." Jennifer chuckled, knowing that he would tease her about that until they were old and forgetful. Even then, Jonathan would probably still remember.

"You do, huh? I wonder if she thinks he was worth it." He laughed a bit and lifted his eyebrows at her.

"You tell me." Jennifer smiled slowly, and her husband swallowed hard at the gleam in her eye.

"I'd rather show you."

"I'm sure we can make time for that." Jonathan kissed her senseless before leading her back to the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke Jennifer with a gentle kiss and enjoyed watching her stretch, then laughed heartily at her first words.

"Are we there yet?"

"We'll be landing in less than an hour." She closed her eyes again and smiled.

"You were right, the bed does make overseas travel that much better." Jonathan was pretty sure his wife wasn't talking about sleeping, but since they only had about 45 minutes, he decided he should get up and get dressed.

When they deplaned, an electric blue Mercedes convertible was waiting for them on the tarmac. While Jonathan loaded the bags in the trunk, Jennifer looked around, breathing in the morning air. She didn't hear her husband sneak up behind her.

"Have you figured it out yet?" She turned into his arms with a brilliant smile.

"We're in Florence. I saw the Duomo and the bell tower on our decent."

"I hope you like it." She answered him in fluent Italian.

"Sì. L'Italia è uno dei miei posti preferiti da visitare, e ora posso visitarlo con la mia persona preferita." Jonathan looked at her incredulously and chuckled.

"You speak Italian?" She laughed at the look on his face.

"I do."

"Well, that will come in handy at the restaurants." She laughed again. "Now, what did you say?"

"I said that, yes, Italy is one of my favorite places, and now I'm visiting it with my favorite person."

"I'm the persona?" She laughed again.

"You're _my_ persona." He took her hand, kissed it, and they set off for their hotel. It was early, but they were able to get into their room to drop off their luggage before heading out to enjoy the warm, late September day.

They spent the next three days absorbing the Tuscan Sun while eating gelatto and drinking Italian wine. Jonathan and Jennifer explored the Uffizi Gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Baptistry, the Duomo, the bell tower, and Ponte Vecchio, basically all of the spots most tourists visit. On their last evening, Jennifer took a long sip of her wine as she watched the people pass by the outdoor tratoria where they were eating dinner.

"I don't think I'm going to need to exercise for a year after these last three days." Jonathan felt the same way.

"You were the one who talked me into climbing to the top of both the Duomo and the bell tower." She smiled at him.

"But weren't the views exquisite?" He grinned at her.

"I kind of like the view down here, and I definitely liked the private workouts we had." She blew him a kiss across the table.

"That's both sweet and naughty." She loved it when he laughed completely.

They walked with her hand in the crook of his arm back to their hotel.

"Are you ready to head to our next destination tomorrow?" She looked at him coyly from under her lashes.

"If you tell me where we're going." He took her hand and kissed it. Jennifer recognized the gleam in her husband's eye.

"I'll tell you where we're going if you speak Italian to me when we get back to our room." She laughed but then realized he was completely serious.

"Jonathan, you won't know what I'm saying." He pulled her in for a searing kiss.

"Isn't Italian the language of love?" He kissed her again. "Besides, I'm hoping you'll show me what you're saying." She almost hated to burst his bubble but enjoyed it immensely anyway.

"Chérie, je suis désolé, mais le Français est la langue de l'amour, pas italien." Jennifer stood, laughing hysterically at the look on her husband's face.

"You just said something about France and Italy, but you said it in French." She could only nod. "Darling, how many languages do you know?" She held up six fingers. He just shook his head back and forth. "You are full of surprises, aren't you? Are you going to tell me what the others are, assuming English is one?" She answered him in Spanish.

"También hablo polaco y Swahili un poco. ¿Vas a decirme a donde vamos mañana?" He glared at her, but she could tell he wanted to laugh.

"Funny. That's very cute."

"Thank you." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and smirked at her again.

"And just for that, no, I'm not telling you where we're going tomorrow." She looked at him incredulously.

"You understood me?" He knew he couldn't fool her for long.

"Not all of it, but I know you well enough to know that you asked something about where we're going tomorrow." Now it was her turn to glare.

"Oh, you."

When they reached the hotel, Jonathan ordered a bottle of wine from room service. The couple sipped it slowly as they enjoyed the night air on the terrace of their suite. Jennifer looked down at her ring finger then over at her husband, who was watching her.

"I'm feeling very lucky to be here with you." Jonathan took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"The feeling is mutual." Jonathan pulled out his phone and opened up one of his playlists. "Dance with me?" They swayed together as the sun set over the city of Florence.

...

By noon the next day, they were driving through Athens in a candy apple red Jaguar convertible.

When he was done shifting gears, Jonathan took Jennifer's hand and brought it to his lips. "Darling, remind me to ask you to speak different languages to me more often. Last night was extremely enjoyable." He caught her glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Tesoro, ho apprezzato moltissimo tutto ciò che abbiamo fatto insieme." He laughed.

"Did you just call me fat?" Jennifer's laugh came from her toes.

"Not even close."

She pulled out her guide book, but Jonathan was impressed by how much she knew without even looking. She shrugged a little when he asked her about it.

"World history and literature were two of my favorite subjects."

"Why do I get the feeling you were just a good student in every subject, including languages?" She laughed a little.

"Well, my chemistry teacher might disagree with you." Jonathan glanced at her.

"Had a little trouble in chemistry, did you?" She rolled her eyes and played with the hem of her skirt.

"I might have accidentally blown up the lab." Jonathan started laughing so hard, Jennifer thought they might have to pull over. "I wish my teacher thought it was that funny."

"It's all right, Darling. You get an A+ in chemistry from me." She laughed right along with him at that.

They found a place to park and were wandering through Hadrian's Gate toward the Temple of Zeus when they bumped into a young woman.

She apologized in her native Greek, or at least that's what Jonathan figured it was. As he helped steady her, she placed a folded piece of paper in his hand.

"It's all right. I didn't hurt you, did I?" She nodded negatively and hurried down the street. Jonathan watched her walk away.

"Darling, are you all right?" Jennifer's voice brought him back.

"I'm fine. Let's keep walking." The couple posed for pictures in front of the temple, with Jennifer giving Jonathan a kiss on the cheek for one. They continued to walk hand in hand, and when Jonathan was satisfied that they weren't being followed, he stopped to look at the note in his hand. He couldn't completely explain why he was being so cautious.

_Mr. Hart, we have not met, but my father, Giannis Tsitsos, works at your ship yard at the Port of Piraeus. Please meet me at the little book store at the base of the Acropolis this afternoon at 3:00 pm. I believe my father is in grave danger._

He handed it to Jennifer to read.

"What do you think? Do you know this man?" She tried saying his name a couple of times. "Greek is one language I'm not great with." Jonathan took the note and put it in his pocket.

"His name is pronounced Yannis Chee-chos. And no, I don't know him personally, but we correspond on a regular basis and conduct video chats for business. In fact, the last time we spoke, he told me there were some things he wanted to discuss further with me." Jennifer gave her husband a puzzled look.

"How do you have a shipping business here if you've never been to Greece?" They continued their stroll.

"Normally I am on site for any mergers or acquisitions, but this was a simple purchase several months ago, an addition to Hart Shipping. I sent a few people over, Stanley Friesen included, and they sent me back specs, projections, and history. Everything looked good, so we went ahead with the buyout. Tsitsos is one of the men who was instrumental on this side of the deal. He helped weed through the workers we should keep and those we should fire due to corruption and poor work ethic. The company has been on a steady incline ever since."

"So this business deal was a bit of a test for Stanley?" He smiled, loving that she understood.

"Stanley's invaluable to the company and to me. Unfortunately, he doesn't always have the confidence he needs. Putting him in charge of small ventures like this helps."

Jennifer pushed up on her toes and kissed her husband's cheek. "Everyone should be lucky enough to have a boss like you."

They continued walking in the direction of the Acropolis and found a little Gyro stand for lunch. Jennifer questioned the man behind the counter about the choices of pork or chicken.

"You don't use lamb for your Gyros?" The man laughed and answered her with his deeply accented speech.

"You Americans all think the same. The lamb comes from Turkey. Greeks use pork." Jennifer looked at Jonathan who ordered for them both.

"Then we'll have two pork Gyro plates." They chose a table with an umbrella and sat to eat.

"I might have to do some sort of travel piece when we get home. Have it include all the misconceptions Americans have of other countries."

"That's a great idea. You could make it a six part series, one part for each continent." She looked at him quizzically.

"Darling, there are seven continents." He smiled.

"Do we have misconceptions about the penguins in Antarctica?" It took her a second, but they both laughed for a long time once it sunk in.

With lunch finished, they started for the Acropolis. Jennifer and Jonathan arrived with a few minutes to spare and sat down in the shade of a tree near the little bookstore. Shortly thereafter, the woman they'd bumped into earlier arrived. Jonathan and Jennifer stood. He reached out his hand.

"How do you do, Miss Tsitsos? I'm Jonathan Hart. This is my wife, Jennifer." The woman smiled shyly.

"Please, call me Eva. Thank you for meeting me. I'm sorry to interrupt your honeymoon. I tried to call you in the United States, but your assistant told me you were traveling. When I mentioned why I needed to contact you, she told me you would be in Greece." Jennifer glared at her husband.

"Deanne knew where we were going on our honeymoon before I did?" Jonathan tried to look sheepish.

"I had to tell her for business purposes." Jennifer drilled a finger into her husband's stomach, which made him jump.

"You can make it up to me later." Jennifer turned to Eva. "I'm sorry about that." Eva just grinned at them both.

"It is all right. You are obviously very happy together, and Greece is the most romantic country in the world. It is a good place for a honeymoon. I will tell you some of the best places to visit."

"Thank you. That would be wonderful." Jonathan wanted to get to the business at hand.

"How did you know where to find us earlier?" Eva shrugged.

"I didn't, but most tourists visit the Temple of Zeus and the Acropolis. I took a chance."

"I'm glad it paid off. How can we help you?"

"Mr. Hart..."

"Jonathan, please." She nodded.

"Jonathan, my father is so proud to work for Hart Industries. He tells me every day since you bought Piraeus Shipping how much better it is."

"I'm glad to have him. He's done a terrific job of cleaning it up and helping it turn a profit again. We're even beginning to give Hellenistic and Atlas a run for their money."

"Thank you for those words. There are those who do not like the new way. They want to make money illegally again by cutting corners and taking bribes. There is a man who puts pressure on my father to hire the type of men he already fired. And now, my father has disappeared. His assistant is in charge, but he is of the old ways. I am afraid he might have had something to do with my father's disappearance."

"I thought your father fired all those he thought were corrupt." She nodded.

"He did, except for Stavros. Stavros Milonopoulos is one of my father's oldest friends. Bampás was hoping that Stavros would eventually come around. I don't think he has."

"Tell me why you suspect him."

"I think it would be easier to show you. Bampás kept files. I found them after our house was ransacked. He must have known someone would look for them, and he hid them under the floor mat of my car. I'm glad I dropped something or I might never have found them."

"Are the police involved with this at all?"

"I've filed a missing person report, but they do not seem too willing to help me look, even though I also called them after the house was broken into."

"How long has your father been missing?"

"For two days. I also feel as though I am sometimes being followed, which the local police do not seem to care about either."

"I think you are being followed. There's a gentleman who sat down shortly after you came to talk to us. He's reading a magazine, but he looks up often to make sure you're still here. You can tell me if you recognize him after we start walking." They started toward the parking lot where Eva's car was parked. "Where do you have the files now?"

"They are where Bampás put them. It seems like a safe place."

"Well, if you hand them off to me, whoever is following you will know." Jonathan looked at Jennifer and noticed that she had her messenger bag with her. He gave her his most charming smile.

"Darling, would you like to help me fix a car?"

The man with the magazine got up and followed at a safe distance as the group made their way across the street to the parking lot. Jonathan outlined the plan to the ladies, who agreed it was their best bet. He also asked Eva if she recognized the man following them, but she shook her head negatively.

...

The person following them watched as Eva got in her car but got back out again. She seemed to be having engine trouble. He briefly wondered if he should offer his assistance to make sure nothing slipped past him, but rethought it since he knew nothing about cars. Just then his phone pinged. He read the text message from his boss.

"_Yes, the picture you sent me is of Jonathan Hart. He is apparently in Greece on his honeymoon. If he gets in the way, his marriage will be short lived. Keep an eye on the situation_."

"_I am_." He hit send and continued to watch the byplay in the parking lot. Hart was fiddling under the hood of the car, and his wife now sat in the driver's seat. He motioned for her to do something, fiddled some more, and then the car started. What the man watching didn't notice is that while in the driver's seat, Jennifer reached under the floor mat, retrieved the files, and stashed them in her messenger bag.


	3. Chapter 3

Jonathan gave Eva a business card with his information on it so she could contact him. He promised to be in touch after he read through the files, but they agreed that minimal contact was better.

After watching Eva drive away, Jennifer and Jonathan chose to make the trek to the top of the Acropolis. Jonathan listened as his wife told the story of Athena and Poseidon vying over the naming of Athens.

"Obviously, Athena won the contest."

"She did. An olive tree had many more uses for the people than a salt spring did." Jennifer checked the guide book and pointed to a spot in front of the Erechtheon, one of three buildings built on the top of the hill. "There, in front of the Caryatids, the statues of the women, is supposedly where Poseidon struck his trident to make the spring."

Jonathan pointed to a tree at the bottom of the hill. "And there's an olive tree." They both looked around.

"It's amazing isn't it? These buildings have been here for over 2,000 years. People used to visit this place every day to worship and get their information."

"Like the first search engine." Jennifer laughed.

"I guess so." They took some pictures of each other in front of the ruins, and another tourist offered to take a picture of them together. When Jonathan turned his wife to him to kiss her, the girl zoomed in on the kiss. Jonathan thanked her and put his phone back in his pocket.

Later that evening, as they ate dinner in the Plaka District, a group of men danced through the streets, entertaining the diners. Jonathan took some video and a few pictures. He checked the photos from earlier and came across the one of him kissing Jennifer. Nothing in the background was visible, only him and his wife.

"I think we might have to frame this one when we get home." Jennifer took the phone to look at the picture. She smiled as she handed it back to him.

"That's a great idea." A thought occurred to her.

"When do we close on the house?"

"A couple days after we get back. We can stop in New York first, pack up your apartment, and then get a mover to transport whatever you want to California."

"What about your place?"

"Max is already working on packing most of it. It won't take too long to finish when we get back. Since Willow Pond is move in ready, we could start living there right away after the honeymoon."

"I'd like that."

They took the metro back and walked the couple of blocks to their hotel. The view of the Acropolis at night was beautiful, and they stood on the street wrapped in each other's arms for a while admiring it. Jonathan kissed her cheek.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Darling?"

"I am. I'm so glad we still have a couple of weeks." She turned into his embrace. "Thank you for planning such a wonderful trip." He leaned down and kissed her gently.

Once they got back to their hotel room, Jennifer took the files from Eva out of her messenger bag and handed them to Jonathan. They both changed and browsed through the folders in bed. While Jennifer wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, Jonathan pointed out some of the things Giannis highlighted.

"It looks like Stavros is keeping two sets of books. In this one, you can see who he's taken bribes from and which parts he's skimping on."

"Maybe Giannis knew it was his friend he was looking for. Look at this." She held out a couple of photos that were in the file she was looking through. Jonathan pointed at both pictures.

"This is the same man. Maybe that's Stavros."

"We can ask Eva tomorrow." Jonathan nodded and placed the files back in Jennifer's bag.

"I want to make sure that whoever is following her doesn't catch on that we have these. I'll contact her in the morning." He climbed back under the covers and moved closer to the middle of the bed. He folded Jennifer into his arms. "For the rest of the night though, I just want to concentrate on you." She leaned into his kiss, relishing his closeness.

"Darling, you have excellent concentration." Jonathan leaned over her and switched off the nightstand light.

...

The next morning, Jonathan sent a message to Eva, asking her to meet them at the hotel for breakfast. They sat and discussed some of the findings in the files, while the man who kept tabs on Eva seated himself in the lobby of the hotel.

"I'd like to visit the shipyard today. Now that I know what Stavros looks like, I can introduce myself and see what I can find out." He turned to Jennifer. "I'm sorry, Darling. I know a shipyard isn't the most romantic place to visit on a honeymoon." She beamed at him.

"It's all right, Darling. You can take me shopping later." He gave her a half smile.

"Um-hm. That's the deal I was expecting." She laughed.

"You know me so well."

"Eva, I'll send you a message later." She got up to leave.

"Thank you, for everything you are doing." Jonathan nodded.

"I just hope it all works out the way we want it to."

The Harts sat and finished breakfast, noting that shortly after Eva left, so did her shadow. Jennifer commented on it.

"I wonder why he hasn't approached us yet, or why we don't have our own tail." Jonathan pursed his bottom lip.

"Maybe they don't know about the files. Maybe they thought there was something, which is why they broke into the Tsitsos' home, but when they didn't find anything, they decided to follow Eva, hoping she would lead them to something."

"Does the poor girl have any other family?" Jennifer found her heart going out to this young woman who seemed so all alone.

"Her mother passed away some years ago. She has a younger brother and sister that she cares for." Jennifer reached over and took Jonathan's hand in hers.

"Well, let's see if we can help get her father home, shall we?" Jonathan looked at his wife and shook his head a bit.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He kissed her and led her to the car.

Driving through Athens, they commented on a few things they still wanted to see, like the original modern Olympic venue and the Theatre of Herodes Atticus. The sights of the city changed drastically as they drove from the downtown area to the industrial section and the Port of Piraeus. He parked the car near the entrance to the offices and came around to open Jennifer's door. When they entered the building, the operator told them that they would be able to find Stavros Milonopoulis out in the shipyard.

Jonathan noticed the myriad stares aimed toward his wife as they wound their way through the maze of parts, shipping containers, and equipment. He took her hand to keep her close. Finally, they found the man they were looking for on one of the docks. Jonathan yelled above the noise.

"I'm looking for Stavros Milonopoulis." A couple of the men passed the message on, and at last, word got where it needed to be. A middle aged gentleman, well tanned from the Mediterranean sun, and well muscled from years of manual labor, approached the couple. He addressed Jonathan in accented English.

"I am Stavros Milonopoulis. How can I help you?" Jonathan extended his hand and accepted the extremely firm handshake.

"I'm Jonathan Hart. This is my wife, Jennifer."

"Come. Let's find someplace quieter. Call me Stavros, please."

"Stavros, I was hoping to meet with both you and Giannis while I'm in Athens, but when I called, I was told that Giannis hasn't been seen for a couple of days." The older man looked concerned for his friend.

"Yes, I was told you were coming, and yes, all of us are concerned about Giannis. He is my oldest friend." Jonathan noticed that Stavros seemed to be distracted as he gave them an insincere smile. "I'm sorry that I wasn't in the office to meet you. You aren't really dressed for the docks." Jonathan kept his temper in check at the way Stavros' eyes roamed over Jennifer. "There was something that was unavoidable." Stavros was trying to keep the conversation casual, but so far, Jonathan didn't believe a word. "What can I do for you, Mr. Hart?"

"I'm not sure. Giannis told me a couple of weeks ago that he had something he wanted to discuss with me. Unfortunately, I've been out of the office since then for my wedding and honeymoon."

"I see. Did Giannis tell you anything about his concerns?" Jonathan stared at the other man.

"No. That's why I thought I would stop in while I was in the country. Now he's missing. Do you have any idea what he might have wanted to talk about?" Stavros shrugged his shoulders.

"He did not tell me of any concerns." Jonathan nodded.

"I met his daughter, Eva, yesterday. She has no idea why he was bothered either, but she's worried that he hasn't been home in two days. She's also worried about her brother and sister." Stavros responded in Greek to one of his men who called to him.

"Mr. Hart, I must get back to work, but I will check in on Eva. I'm sorry, I feel as though you've wasted your time with this visit." Jonathan smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Visiting an arm of my corporation is never a waste of my time. If you think of anything regarding Giannis, here's my card."

Both Jennifer and Jonathan could feel Stavros' glare as they made their way back to the car.

"Darling, you don't believe anything he told us, do you?"

"No. Do you?" Jennifer waited until they were both in the car before she answered him.

"He has the smile of a shark." Jonathan nodded, agreeing with her assessment.

"We'll take another look through the files when we get back to the hotel tonight. I feel like I started to see something last night, but then I found something else I wanted to focus on." Jennifer just shook her head and smiled as her husband raised his eyebrows at her.

For the rest of the day, they wandered through little shops and were amazed by ancient ruins. After dinner, they got ice cream on the way back to the hotel. As they sat on a bench planning more for their move into the new house after the honeymoon, Jonathan stopped responding and just stared at his wife. She took a last lick of her cone and questioned him.

"Darling, are you all right?" She wiped her face with her napkin. "Do I have ice cream somewhere I shouldn't?" She smiled coyly as she noticed the lecherous look in his eye. Jonathan gave her a little chin nod toward her cone.

"Do it again." She shook her head and tried not to smile as she licked her cone. "Yep, that's it. We're going back to the hotel." Jennifer couldn't hold the laugh back anymore when her husband took their cones and dumped them in the trash as he took her hand. That last block, they walked faster than they did all day. After their suite door clicked shut, and just before Jonathan could pull her in for a kiss, she looked at him as innocently as she could muster.

"Why the big rush, Sailor? Something suddenly come up?" She was giggling hysterically as he attacked her neck. When his mouth found hers, she wrapped her arms around him and clung to him.

"Darling, how is it that you can seduce me so completely with just a look?" Jonathan walked her backwards into the bedroom, all the while placing light kisses on her exposed skin and running his hands up and down her body.

They didn't get to the shipyard files until much later.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Jonathan connected some of the dots in Giannis' files while Jennifer showered. She came into the room just as he was finishing up.

"You look like a man on a mission." He looked at her triumphantly.

"I think I've got it figured out." He held out his hand to her and pulled her into his lap. Jonathan spread the notes he took in front of her and let her read through them. As she read, Jonathan's hand ran up and down her back.

"So, Stavros, who is in charge of purchases, buys what the company needs to build the ships, but he's buying from inferior manufacturers and pocketing the extra money." Jonathan beamed at her.

"That's exactly what I see." He pointed to some of the transactions. "He's good at hiding it, but Giannis found the second set of books, which were still cleverly coded. It also looks like Stavros has been blackmailing some of the workers to cover it all up." Jennifer looked at her husband.

"What are we going to do about it?" Jonathan sat for a minute.

"I think we need to get Eva up to speed. I'm worried that the police haven't been more helpful to her. It makes me wonder if Stavros has someone in his pocket."

Jonathan sent a message to Eva, asking her to come to their hotel room.

"What if the man follows me? I don't want to put you and Jennifer in danger." Jonathan messaged back.

"Don't worry about it. We want him to follow you. Trust me."

"I do. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Jonathan outlined his plan to his wife, and he took a few minutes to run down to the business office in the hotel to make a copy of his notes. He got back upstairs just ahead of Eva.

They let her in and ran through the plan. They also found out which police officers she thought they might be able to trust. There were two she knew for sure were good friends with Stavros, so they were out. After that, they ordered room service, hoping that the man tailing Eva would make the move they thought he would.

Sure enough, when room service arrived, it was delivered by Eva's shadow. Jonathan shouted so the man through the door could hear him.

"Darling, will you get that?" Jonathan positioned himself just out of sight, and when the man cleared the door, Jonathan knocked him out. They tied him up with the phone cord, ate, and waited for him to come to. Jonathan also had time to show Eva what he and Jennifer found in Giannis' notes. To speed up the process of waking up their guest, Jonathan threw water in the man's face.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Silence. Jonathan tapped on the man's face a few times. "Answer me, who are you, and why are you here?"

"I'm not stupid, and I'm not answering you." Jonathan shrugged.

"That's fine. We can pin all of this on you instead of Stavros. Or you can tell us where your boss is holding Giannis Tsistos and be charged with only accessory to kidnapping." The man tried to laugh, but was slightly intimidated by Jonathan's icy blue stare.

"You have nothing on Mr. M." Jonathan produced the file folder and had the pleasure of watching the other man blanch. At an insistent knock, Jennifer checked through the peep hole and opened the door to two uniformed policemen. When faced with the evidence and the police, Grigoris began to tell all for a deal. Once he mentioned Giannis, Jonathan, Jennifer, and Eva sped toward the docks, with assurance that there was backup enroute also.

Jonathan's tires squealed as he pulled into the shipyard, and he told the women to stay by the car and wait for the police. He remembered seeing the storage facility that Grigoris mentioned when they were at the docks yesterday. As he ran toward it, Jonathan saw Stavros heading in that direction with a gun drawn. Not having any other option, he yelled from behind some barrels.

"It's over, Stavros. The authorities have the evidence they need to lock you up for a long time. Bribes, fraud, kidnapping, breaking and entering, and those are just the beginning." Stavros fired in the direction of Jonathan's voice.

At the sound of the gunshot, Jennifer took off in the direction of her husband.

"Wait here for the police, Eva."

"Mr. Hart, you cannot stop me. I will be long gone before the police get here."

"They're already on their way." Another shot pinged off the barrel over Jonathan's head.

"Don't make it worse, Stavros. Murder will put you away for life." Jonathan heard Stavros laugh.

"You think you are the first man I have killed? Mr. Hart, you obviously did not do all your homework." Jonathan looked around the barrels again, but Stavros was gone. His heart sank when he heard his wife call his name.

"Jonathan."

"Yes, Hart. I have your wife. Come out, or I will shoot her." Jonathan speared her with a glare.

"I told you to stay by the car."

"And I was afraid you were dead." Stavros was enjoying himself.

"I plan to make that happen shortly, Mrs. Hart. Join us over here, won't you, Mr. Hart?" Jonathan came closer and made eye contact with Jennifer, who nodded slightly. Stavros had one arm around her chest and used his other to train the gun on Jonathan. When Stavros motioned with the gun, Jonathan yelled, "Now."

Jennifer grabbed Stavros' pinky and ripped it backward. He squealed and she heard bone break, but his shock caused him to fire wildly in the air, and Jonathan bull rushed him. The gun skittered across the ground as both men tried to get the upper hand over the other. Jennifer grabbed the gun and heard feet running toward them. Her husband got in a couple hard punches, but Stavros landed one on Jonathan's chin that sent him sprawling. Suddenly, Stavros found himself tackled by two officers and handcuffed. Jennifer ran to Jonathan.

"Darling, are you all right?" He wiggled his jaw a bit and shook his head.

"Did you get the number of that truck?" She placed a light kiss where the bruise would form.

"Bampás." The young woman threw her arms around her father after the police freed him from behind the locked door and his ropes.

"My darling Eva." Jonathan and Jennifer walked toward father and daughter. Jonathan extended his hand.

"Giannis, it's nice to finally meet you in person." The older man shook Jonathan's hand heartily.

"It is good to meet you as well, Mr. Hart." Jonathan smiled.

"After all of this, I think we're on a first name basis. Jonathan, please. This is my wife, Jennifer." Giannis smiled at her then looked over to where Stavros was being led away.

"A moment, please." He walked over and spoke harshly to his oldest friend in their native tongue. He walked back looking sad but resolved.

"Bampás, I'm sorry for what Stavros has done." Her father nodded slightly.

"Me too. He was a dear friend, but he chose money over everything else. He will spend the rest of his life in jail for his choices." He turned to Jonathan and Jennifer. "I will never be able to repay you for keeping my daughter safe and rescuing me. I'm sure that Stavros was on his way to kill me when you showed up."

"No thanks necessary. I'm just glad we got here in time." Eva hugged her father close.

The Harts dropped Eva and Giannis at their house, and were extended an invitation. "Tonight, you will join my family for dinner. There is a restaurant that not only serves wonderful food, but also has song and dance. I insist."

Jonathan and Jennifer looked at each other and both smiled. "We'd be delighted." Jennifer turned to Eva. "And then you can tell us some of the places we should visit during the rest of our honeymoon."

"It will be my pleasure."

Giannis gave Jonathan the address of the restaurant and told the couple that to be there by 7:00 pm.

"We'll see you then." Jennifer turned her husband's face gently toward her.

"All right, Rocky, let's go get some ice on that jaw."

"That sounds good. Stavros had a fist like a sledgehammer."

They sat at the little table on the terrace of their suite. It afforded them a gorgeous view of the Acropolis. Both had a glass of wine, and Jonathan had a makeshift ice pack on his jaw. He put it down and looked at his wife.

"Jennifer, why didn't you stay by the car with Eva?" He tried to keep the question even, but he felt it was sharper than he intended. He knew it was when he looked in his wife's eyes. She was angry and hurt. He reached for her hand but she pulled it away.

"I heard the gun go off and just reacted." She took in a deep breath. "Jonathan, I think I've proven on more than one occasion that I can take care of myself."

"You have."

"Then why are you angry with me for rushing into the same situation you rushed into?" This time when Jonathan reached for her hand, she reached back.

"I'm not angry with you." He rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs. "I was scared, Darling. I've never been so scared. One minute I knew where Stavros was, and the next, he had you at gunpoint." She tried to get him to smile and squeezed his hands.

"We make a pretty good team though." He couldn't resist her smile.

"Yes. We do. I just know I couldn't handle losing the best teammate I've ever had." Jennifer lowered her head and mumbled, "damn," under her breath. When she lifted her head back up, Jonathan had that triumphant gleam in his eye.

"Darling, how am I supposed to stay mad at you when you say something so lovely?"

"You're not." She glared at him, but it had no heat.

"Put the ice back on your jaw."

"I will after I say one more thing." He kissed her hands. "I promise to try not to treat you like glass anymore. We're partners, and we do make an amazing team." Jennifer got up and moved to his lap. She held the ice pack herself while she kissed him.

"You're the best teammate I've ever had too." She kissed him one more time. "Maybe we should get matching shirts." He laughed.

"Maybe I should just buy you a Dodgers jacket to match mine." She rolled her eyes as he continued to laugh.

Later that evening, they met Giannis and Eva, as well as her younger siblings, Aris and Lina, at the restaurant. For the next couple of hours, they ate, drank, and danced. There were singers who wore traditional outfits from various parts of Greece and serenaded the patrons, and then danced the dances of their ancestors. During the evening, both Jonathan and Jennifer were lured out on the floor and taught a dance which pulled them into and out of a circle. They laughed hysterically as their feet got tangled the faster the music played.

Giannis and his family walked with them back to their hotel, and Jonathan told the older gentleman, who was now officially a Hart Industries Vice-President in the shipping division, that he would be in touch after the honeymoon. The two men shook hands.

"Again, Jonathan, I cannot thank you enough." Jonathan smiled warmly.

"Continue to run Piraeus as well as you are, and that will be thanks enough." Jennifer embraced Eva.

"If you ever want to visit California, we have plenty of room." The girl smiled shyly at Jennifer.

"Thank you. You are very kind."

Jennifer and Jonathan walked into the hotel lobby hand in hand. In their room, they got ready for bed and snuggled under the covers together.

"Well, that was a whirlwind end to an adventurous couple of days." Jennifer leaned up on her elbow so she could look at Jonathan.

"Wasn't it beautiful? All the colors and the dancing?" She laughed. "I think I fell in love with one of the male dancers for about ten minutes." Jonathan looked at her.

"Opa?" Jennifer laughed even harder.

"Not on your life."

"Well, you were the only dancer I could focus on." She ran her nails lightly down his chest.

"I don't know how they keep their feet straight." She placed a soft kiss on his chest. "I think I'll stick to ballet and ballroom dancing."

"You can be dance partner any time."

"Awww. That's sweet." She settled her head on his chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair. "Jonathan, what are we going to do for the next week and a half without any bad guys to catch?" He put his finger on her lips.

"Shhh, Darling. Don't jinx us." She giggled. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, relaxing her. "I thought we might see some of the islands. What do you think?"

"You mean you don't already have a plan?" He heard the teasing in her voice.

"Of course I do, but I thought I'd at least ask you."

"And then go with your plan anyway?" He kissed the top of her head.

"You know me so well." She pulled lightly on his chest hair. "Would you like to hear my thoughts?"

"You know I would." He shifted so he could see her reaction.

"I rented a Schooner so we can sail around the islands. Sifnos and Amorgos are two that Eva mentioned, but we can visit any of them you like. Tomorrow morning we can map out a course and just follow where it leads." She kissed him with increasing passion.

"You have some of the best ideas." He caught her lips with his again. "I've heard that the sunset on Santorini is something everyone needs to see."

"We'll make sure we see it then." He brought her lips to his for another searing kiss.

"Is this another plan, Darling."

"Um-hm." He trailed kisses along her neck. "Do you like it?" She ran her hands up his chest.

"I think I can live with it." She reached over him to turn out the light. As soon as the room went dark, she found herself pinned under her husband and locked in a sensual embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, they again found themselves at the Port of Piraeus, but this time they boarded the rented Schooner and set off for the Greek Islands. As Jonathan sailed toward Sifnos, Jennifer soaked up the Mediterranean Sun. After a while, she opened her eyes and caught her husband staring at her. Her simple, white bikini showed off the tan she already had, and she smiled as her husband's eyes roamed her body. Since Jonathan was admiring her, she drank him in from head to toe. He looked rather magnificent at the helm of the ship in his navy blue trunks and sailor cap, which was perched jauntily on his head. He too was tan from their time in the sun, and Jennifer suddenly needed to be near him. She got up and walked slowly, predatorily toward him; her eyes locked with his.

"Hey Sailor, need a break?" In response, Jonathan left one hand on the wheel and used his other to wrap behind her neck and pull her to him for a sexy, passionate kiss. She took his hat and placed on her own head.

"Mmm, I like your idea of a break." Jonathan spun his wife around and placed her hands on the wheel. Since his hands were now free, he used them to peruse Jennifer's sun soaked flesh. "Darling, I think we need to get you out of the sun for a while. Just give me a minute to lower the sails." She watched as Jonathan worked and marveled as his muscles bunched while he did what needed to be done so they could just drift for a bit. His movements were quick and efficient, and Jennifer realized how much she still had to discover about her husband. She was smiling as he took her hand and led her below deck.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She stood on the last step so she was eye to eye with him.

"You."

"Me?" She nodded.

"Um-hm." He wrapped his arms around her.

"What about me?"

"Watching you take down the sails made me realize just how much I still have to learn about you." Jonathan raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well, you have your secrets, like being fluent in six languages, which is very sexy." He gave her neck a quick love bite. "And I have several of my own secrets for you to discover." She threw her head back and gave a quick giggle.

"I'm sure you do." He pulled her tighter and kissed her with abandon.

"Right now though, Darling, I'm sure you can guess one of my secrets." His eyes were full of lust, and she shot him a wicked smile.

"You're making it pretty obvious, Sailor." He kissed her one last time before they made their way to the cabin.

...

Jennifer and Jonathan explored Sifnos and sailed on to Amorgos, taking their time, chatting with shop owners, and eating in family owned restaurants. They drank Greek wine and made love under the Greek sun and moon. When they arrived at Santorini, they rented a car and made the trek up to Oia Village. They walked the streets and poked into the various stores. Bright white buildings with vivid blue domed tops made beautiful backdrops for photos, and they posed for several together. The views from the cliffs were breathtaking, and rather than fight the throngs of tourists who flocked to the ruins of the old fort, Jonathan reserved the terrace of a restaurant so that he and Jennifer could sit and enjoy the sunset together. As the sky blazed orange along the horizon, Jonathan kissed Jennifer softly and they clinked their wine glasses together.

"To the woman who makes my life complete." Jennifer leaned over and kissed Jonathan again.

"And to the man who fulfills every dream I ever had."

As Jonathan leaned in to give Jennifer another kiss, he whispered, "and hopefully a few fantasies as well." He smiled seductively as his wife blushed slightly.

After the sun completely disappeared for the night, the couple made their way back to the car hand in hand. Before they got in to drive back down to the dock and their rented Schooner, Jennifer turned Jonathan to her and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"This has been a magical evening. Thank you for making it so special."

"Darling, it brings me a great deal of pleasure to make you happy." She smiled at him and he felt his knees weaken.

"Aww." She kissed him gently, then with increasing passion.

"I think we need to continue this conversation back on board the ship." Jennifer's laugh came out low and sultry.

"I'm not planning on talking when we get back." She found herself backed up against the car while her husband kissed her carnally. As his mouth teased her ear, he growled at her.

"Get in the car." Jonathan took the hairpin turns as quickly as he dared all the way down to the dock.

...

They spent the next few days on Crete prior to catching a quick charter flight back to Athens. Before they flew home, Jonathan visited Piraeus Shipping to see Giannis.

"I just wanted to stop by in case there is anything you need before my wife and I head back to the States."

"No, I think we have things under control. I've cancelled the contracts with the disreputable businesses that Stavros set up, and we've begun to reorder parts that meet Hart Industry standards. I will apologize that we will not make a profit again until I can make everything right."

"Don't ever apologize for doing the right thing, Giannis. This is exactly why I gave you the position I did. Call if you need anything." The two men shook hands, and Giannis took Jennifer's hand to kiss it.

"Mrs. Hart, it was a pleasure to meet you. You made quite an impression on my Eva." Jennifer smiled.

"Well, Eva is quite a remarkable young woman. You should be very proud of her. We'll make sure to visit when we come back to Greece, and of course, if you are ever in California, you must be our guest."

With that, Jonathan and Jennifer headed to the airport. Their flight to New York was uneventful, and they were able to pack up Jennifer's apartment rather quickly. Jonathan hired a small moving truck to ship the larger items to California, while they loaded some of the smaller, fragile items onto the Gulfstream. Jonathan already had a U-Haul on standby in California for those boxes.

They touched down at LAX the next afternoon, and Max and Freeway met them at the airport. Freeway greeted them both with sloppy licks and several barks as he tried to get to both Jonathan and Jennifer at the same time.

Not much got accomplished until the next day due to exhaustion from traveling, but within three days of arriving in Los Angeles, everything was in the house on Willow Pond Lane, except for the items from New York, which were scheduled to arrive within the next few days. One of the first things to get put in its place was Freeway's bed. He sniffed at the wicker oval and its plaid cushion, licked the little plate with his name on it, and curled up near the kitchen fireplace, content in his new home.

While they kept several of their own things, Jonathan and Jennifer decided to buy a few items together, like a bed for the master bedroom and a baby grand piano for the living room. The painting from Steven currently hung on the wall across from their bed, and they were busy unpacking and hanging up clothes in the closets.

Max knocked on the open door. "Mr. and Mrs. H., I've got some sandwiches and lemonade down in the kitchen, if you're hungry." Jennifer looked at the clock.

"I had no idea it was so late. Thanks, Max. I'm starving." They followed Max down for lunch.

"How is your unpacking coming along?"

"Pretty good, Mr. H.. The kitchen's almost organized, and my room is done." He poured kibble into Freeway's bowl and set it on the floor. "I'll get to the bar next. Moving turned out to be not so bad."

Jonathan and Jennifer finished arranging the closets after lunch, and when Jennifer walked toward the door, Jonathan caught her in his arms. He pulled her tightly to him and pressed his lips to hers, teasing her. "How about if I unpack you next?" Her laugh caused him to pull her closer as he trailed light kisses down her neck.

"Jonathan." His hands were slowly sliding up under her shirt. She took his mouth with hers and left him breathless. Before he could think, she was out of his arms and headed for the hallway. She turned at the door. "I'll finish that thought later, Darling."

He heard her laugh on the way downstairs as he yelled, "Tease" after her.

For Jonathan, Monday morning dawned far too early. He and Jennifer spent most of the night before making love in their new bed, and he was loath to leave her for work. He counted himself the luckiest man on the planet when she woke him the same way she put him to bed.

On his drive into the office, he knew he would rouse her, but he had to hear her voice one more time before his meetings and all the catching up he needed to do after being gone for almost a month. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" Her voice was sleepy and sated, which made Jonathan want to turn around and head straight back home.

"Good morning, Darling. I just wanted to thank you for way you woke me this morning. This is going to be the best Monday at work in a very long time." He could hear her smile through his Bluetooth.

"It was definitely my pleasure."

"Our pleasure. I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too." She blew a kiss through the phone and they disconnected.

...

Jennifer was arranging books in the library when Max yelled up that he was headed to the market.

"Is there anything special you want, Mrs. H.?"

She poked her head over the railing. "I have a craving for ice cream, Max."

"Any flavor?"

"Grab your favorite and Mr. H.'s favorite."

"What about your favorite?"

"Mmm, how about chocolate today?"

With a nod he was gone.

When Jennifer came down the spiral staircase, she let out a yelp.

"Elliot, what are you doing here?" His smile made her think that if a snake could smile, it would look the way Elliot did right now.

"You and I have some things to discuss, Jen." Jennifer weighed her options. Unfortunately, her cell phone was in the bedroom, and there was no way to get to the land lines on the desk or the bar without Elliot getting there first. She could go back up the library stairs, but she'd never make it to the bedroom before him. She decided to try to talk to him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" She wanted to slap the smugness off his face.

"I made bail."

"In Maryland. You aren't able to cross state lines." The arrogance only intensified.

"I can with a letter from the judge. And since my parents are now living in California, and they paid my bail, the judge was all too happy to release me to their care while I await trial."

Jennifer tried talking with a confidence she didn't completely feel. "Max will be home soon. He just ran to the market for a few things."

"Nice bluff, Jen, but I heard him talking to the dog. They're going to be gone a couple of hours. More than enough time for us to have our little chat."

He sauntered closer to her and picked up the photos one by one on the piano. He lingered over the one of Jennifer and Jonathan kissing on their honeymoon. "I suppose I should congratulate you on the wedding. Kind of quick wasn't it?" Elliot glared at Jennifer. "How'd you trick him into it?" Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"I didn't have to trick him. Not that my marriage is any of your concern." Elliot moved closer to her, and it took all of her strength not to shrink away from him.

"Of course it is, Jen. I was the first man you wanted to marry, remember?"

"You're also the only man to ever cheat on me." She made a move to walk away, but Elliot shot his hand out and grabbed her arm.

"Uh-uh, Jen. We haven't had our talk yet." Her patience was gone.

"Then talk, Elliot. I want you out of my house." He looked around.

"It's a pretty nice house, Jen. Now that you're Mrs. Jonathan Hart, you can give me the money I want, and then I'm gone."

"Nice try, Elliot, but I can't. Jonathan and I haven't merged our accounts. I don't have access to what you want, and I know Jonathan won't give it to you.

Elliot pulled out his gun and held it at her temple. "He will if it saves your life." He looked her up and down, and her stomach curdled at the greed in his eyes. "Or maybe if he thinks it will save your virtue. I don't think Jonathan Hart is a man who wants to share his wife, especially with his wife's first lover."

"You disgust me, Elliot."

"I didn't used to Jen, but I don't much care anymore. I just want my money. Call your husband and put it on speakerphone."

She walked to the phone at the bar and dialed the office.

"Hart Industries. Jonathan Hart's office."

"Hi Deanne. It's Jennifer. May I speak to my husband, please?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hart. He's in a closed door meeting and asked not to be disturbed."

"I understand, Deanne, but this is rather urgent. I wouldn't ask if it weren't."

"Let me tell him you're on the line."

Jennifer waited on hold and exhaled when Jonathan picked up the phone.

"Darling, are you all right?"

"Not exactly. I'm not on speakerphone in the office, am I?"

"No, I had Deanne transfer you to my cell phone. I stepped out of the meeting for a minute. What does not exactly mean?"

"It means you and Jennifer have a visitor, Jonathan." Jonathan clenched his fist.

"Manning? What are you doing there?"

"I have a score to settle, but right now only half the team is here. If you want to find your wife the same way you left her this morning, you'll come home in less than an hour with $5,000,000 for me." Elliot clicked the phone off.

Jennifer rubbed her fingers across her brow. "How do you expect him to get that kind of money in an hour?" He pinned her against the bar and ran the barrel of the gun down her cheek.

"He's resourceful. He'll figure it out. Or at least you better hope he does."


	6. Chapter 6

Jonathan strode back into the office and threw out everyone but Marcus Wheeler, the head of finance.

"Wheeler, I need $5,000,000 in the next 15 minutes." Marcus blustered.

"That's impossible."

"I don't have time to explain in detail, but there's a man at my house, holding my wife for ransom. You get the money together. I'm calling Lt. Grey." Before he placed the call to the Lieutenant, Jonathan called Max.

"Mr. H? I'm on my way home from the market. You need something?"

"Yeah, Max. Don't go barging into the house. Elliot Manning is there, holding Jennifer hostage."

"How'd that creep get to LA?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. I'm calling Herschel now." Jonathan disconnected and placed the next call. He filled Lt. Grey in on what he knew and paced as he waited for Marcus to come back. Jonathan grabbed the suitcase and opened it.

"It's the best I could do right now, Mr. Hart. I'm sorry. We only had $500,000 on hand."

"It'll do. I can get him out of my house with this and a promise to wire the rest." Jonathan yelled over his shoulder on the way out. "Thanks, Marcus. Work on getting the rest together, will you?"

...

When Jonathan got to the house, Max, Lt. Grey and several other officers were there waiting for him at the gate.

"We waited here cause we didn't want Manning to know we were here. What I really wanted to do was storm the gate and get Mrs. H. outta there." Jonathan laid a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Thanks, Max."

"What do you think, Jonathan? You know the man and your house." Jonathan shook his head.

"We aren't even completely unpacked yet." Jonathan opened the gate and instructed everyone to stop just before the bridge. "I'll go into the house alone, because that's what he expects. Since I've only got 10% of what he wants, he might try to take Jennifer with him as insurance that I'll give him the rest, but he won't be able to get away in a car since the drive will be blocked." He looked at Lt. Grey. "You put your men where you think is best. I'm going to go get my wife." He got in the car and opened the gate. "Max, keep your head down and close the gate."

"Good luck, Mr. H.."

Jonathan drove up to the house, but he didn't notice a strange car, which meant Elliot had a getaway car somewhere else. He texted Max that information to give to the police. The front door opened as soon as Jonathan got to it.

"Welcome home, Jonny boy. Let's talk cash." Jonathan held the briefcase out of reach.

"Where's Jennifer?" Elliot motioned Jonathan through the foyer. He moved to the couch where Jennifer was sitting. "Are you all right, Darling?" She nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm angry, but I'm fine."

"Give me the briefcase, and I'll be on my way." Jonathan pushed it at the other man. When Elliot opened it, he glared at Jonathan. "There's not enough in here."

"It's 10% of what you asked for." Elliot swung the gun toward Jennifer, but Jonathan stepped in front of her. "Did you honestly think I could put five million dollars together in an hour? I don't keep that kind of cash in my desk drawers, Manning."

"Then I stay til it's transferred."

"No, you get out of my house, and you leave my wife alone. The place is surrounded, so you'll be headed back to Maryland, where your bail will be revoked." Elliot's eyes skittered to the window, but he stayed where he was.

"You know, Jonny Boy, for a guy who heads a multimillion dollar company, you're not too smart." Elliot looked at Jennifer. "I think you might have lowered your standards a bit here, Jen." She tried to bite her tongue, but the words were out before she could stop them.

"Well, considering I started at the bottom of the ladder with you, I had nowhere to go but up." Jennifer watched as his eyes hardened over before he looked back to Jonathan.

"Ahh, Jonny, maybe I should have done you a favor and married Jen. You know I was her first, right? She's kind of a tigress in bed." He roared a little as he winked at Jennifer. "I taught her everything she knows." Jonathan's jaw twitched slightly, but beyond that slight movement, he didn't budge. When Elliot saw that Jonathan wasn't going to take a swing, he went to the next phase of his plan.

"Jen, come here." She didn't move, so Elliot pointed the gun at Jonathan's heart. "Get over here or I will shoot him." Jennifer stood reluctantly and walked to Elliot. He turned her around and held her in front of him as he backed toward the front door. Jennifer couldn't use the same move she'd used on Stavros because they were too close to Jonathan, and she wouldn't risk his life. As she and Elliot approached the Oriental rug in the foyer, she yelled "duck" and hoped Jonathan did. She tangled her foot and pulled Elliot down. Thankfully his finger wasn't on the trigger and he let go of the gun as he landed hard on the floor. Jonathan rushed him, while Jennifer rolled the opposite way. She couldn't see the gun, but she ran to the front door and opened it, hoping that Jonathan wasn't bluffing and there were actually officers out there.

Jonathan, fueled by anger and fear for Jennifer, had Elliot Manning unconscious by the time Lt. Grey and his men cleared the threshold. He was shaking out his hand as Jennifer threw her arms around him. When Elliot groaned, Jonathan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a semi-sitting position.

"If you ever even think of coming after my wife again, it'll be the last thing you do." Jennifer kneeled next to her husband and put her arms around him.

"Jonathan, it's over." She took his face in her hands and drew his eyes to hers. "Darling, he can't hurt us anymore." They watched as a groggy Elliot Manning was led off in handcuffs.

Jonathan rubbed his thumb across her cheek. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." She averted her eyes from his.

"Jennifer?" She knew she had to tell him, but she had to wait until they were alone.

"No. He threatened to. He wanted to, but he didn't." Jonathan pulled her close and just held her.

"I'm sorry I even went into work today." Jennifer leaned back so she could look into her husband's fierce blue eyes. A sad smile stole across her face as she combed the hair off his forehead with her fingers.

"I brought Elliot into our lives, Darling. My naiveté at the time didn't allow me to see him for who he truly is." Jonathan caught the tear that rolled down her cheek.

"Hey, there's no blame here. You loved a man who didn't deserve that love. I think everyone has someone like that in the past." She shrugged a bit.

"Yes, but most of those old lovers don't come back with a gun."

"He won't be coming back again." She just nodded. Jonathan took her chin so he could hold her with his eyes. "There's more that happened here that you aren't telling me."

Just then Lt. Grey came back into the house for Jennifer's statement. They walked into the living room, and Jonathan sat next to his wife.

"Will you run me through what happened?" Jennifer started with finding Elliot at the bottom of the library stairs and recounted everything up to Herschel rushing into the house. Lt. Grey then turned to Jonathan. "This is the guy you called me about, right? The one you think was responsible for Sandy McIntosh's death?"

"Yes. Have you made any headway with that?"

"He did a good job of making it look like a suicide, but we're currently tugging on a line that should put us directly onto Manning, or whoever killed that poor girl."

"Good, because I don't ever want him to get out of jail." Jonathan noticed that Jennifer was unusually quiet. "Is there anything else, Lieutenant?"

He checked his notes. "No, I think I have everything I need right now. I'll call you if I need to."

Jonathan walked him to the door and shook his hand. "Thanks for everything." When he turned to head back to Jennifer, she was walking toward him.

"I'm going to head upstairs. I really just need to lie down."

"All right. I'll come up with you." She put her hand on his chest.

"I need to be alone right now." She brushed past him, and he struggled with what he knew his wife needed versus what Jennifer told him she wanted. Choosing to face her wrath, he followed her up.

Jennifer was just standing in the middle of the bedroom when he came in. He wrapped his arms around her, and she turned into his embrace. Jonathan held on while wracking sobs tore through her body. In order to soothe, he ran his fingers through her hair and stroked her back. When the weeping subsided, Jonathan moved them to the bed. He sat up against the pillows and pulled Jennifer close.

"I figured we should get comfortable since there's a story behind those tears." She laughed a little with embarrassment, but it came out as more of a hiccup. As she tried to gather her thoughts, she toyed with one of the buttons on his dress shirt.

"Do you remember when Elliot held us captive the first time? You told me you didn't like the way he looked at me." She felt Jonathan tense, but he stayed silent, waiting for her to tell her story. "I saw that today. It was a greedy look, like he wanted everything I had. Only once did I worry he might act on it, after I called you, but he didn't. I don't know what I would have done if he tried." She paused for a minute and felt a soft kiss at her hairline. It was the complete opposite of the steel she heard in Jonathan's voice.

"He'd be dead." Jennifer let that statement go because she absolutely believed it and knew if she acknowledged it, she would break down again with the overwhelming love she felt emanating from the man lying next to her. Her next words seemed disjointed, but Jonathan kept quiet so she could tell her story at her own pace.

"After my mother died, I kept my feelings to myself. I didn't talk about how I felt with Dad because he was dealing with his own grief. When I met Elliot, I thought we had a relationship that was open and honest, but I learned very quickly that he didn't care about my feelings, so I continued to bury them. Now, I'm lying here with you, and I don't quite know what to say or what to do."

Jonathan lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "Just talk to me. There's more here than just Elliot Manning holding a gun on you or the things he said to bait me." Her eyes fluttered down again to focus on that button.

"May I ask you something first?"

"Anything."

"Why didn't you say anything to him when he said what he did about me, about when he and I were together?" Jonathan put a finger under her chin and brought her eyes to his.

"Because he doesn't deserve to know anything about what we have together." Jonathan kissed his wife softly. "He wanted me to react – with words or a punch, and I didn't want to give him that satisfaction. At least not then. I punched him pretty hard when you went to get Herschel." Her smile made him smile as well, and she lifted his hand to her lips to kiss his sore knuckles. Jennifer took a deep breath and steeled herself for the next part of the conversation.

"What he said before you got home was ugly and cruel, and I know that it isn't true, but…" Her eyes drifted down again, and Jonathan ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Darling, you need to talk about it or it won't go away. You've kept too much of what he said to you locked up. Tell me." She took a deep, shaky breath.

"It was basically the same old Elliot from when we were together. Of course this time, he added you to the litany. How you'll get tired of me quickly because there are so many other women out there who are more exciting, more beautiful, more adventurous, more anything. How I've got the body but have no idea how to use it, even though he tried to show me. How he's amazed that I've even been published, and on and on. While my head knows that it's just a bunch of Elliot's bluster, his jealousy at my success, the words come back every now and then." She shrugged slightly, and Jonathan waited a beat to make sure she was done talking before bringing Jennifer's eyes back to his. He drank in the face of this woman he loved more than his own life.

"He's wrong, on every count." Jennifer tried to look away, but Jonathan wouldn't let her. "My words won't change the way Elliot treated you, but I will spend the rest of my life showing you how brilliant and beautiful I think you are. You get published because you're a damn fine writer, and I'm proud to be married to a woman who is so feisty and independent." He shook his head slightly and brought his lips to hers. "You amaze me every day." His next words came out in a husky whisper. "And as often as I try to entice you to make love with me, it should be obvious how exciting and sexy I think you are." He kissed her again with barely restrained passion. "I will agree with Elliot on one thing." Jennifer's eyes clouded with confusion. "You do have an amazing body, but Darling, you definitely know how to use it." Jennifer's blush only solidified her sex appeal in her husband's mind.

Jennifer reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand. "I have no idea what I did to deserve you, but I'm feeling like the luckiest woman in the world right now." A sly smile stole across his face.

"Want to feel luckier?" Jennifer's laugh lightened his heart.

"Jonathan." His eyes grew serious again.

"I think we must be the luckiest couple in the world then." He kissed her gently. "I love you, so much."

"I love you too." He ran his thumb over her cheek again.

"Let's make a pact, right here. We always tell each other how we feel – good or bad. Deal?"

"Deal." She sealed their deal with a passionate kiss. "Now what did you say about getting lucky?"

He smiled slowly before kissing her senseless.


End file.
